does anyone else feel like we are all getting a lot smarter?

Question

im not talking about being on yahoo answers. god knows we are all becoming retards on here. i mean in general, do you feel like normal people are getting smarter and more skilled in our society?

in 2001 when i graduated highschool the world seemed a lot different. it was pre 9/11 and that may have even made a difference.

i cant tell if all of society has gotten smarter or if maybe just i have through aging, education, and experience.

...what do you think? have average people gotten smarter in the past 6 years?

Answer 1

There was an answer to a question a little while ago that I think answers this very well.

"We don't se the world as it is, we see the world as we are."

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Very interesting question. In my view, people are becoming more intelligent. This is due, in part, to the technology that is available to people today. We are innundated with information on a constant basis, so we're absorbing thousands of messages all the time. The issue is whether or not we understand these messages. In most cases, I do not believe people are adequately trained to use the knowledge they have in order to seriously examine and critique the very technology that is shaping them. I think that what used to be termed "common sense" is really lacking because people rely too much on having others tell them what to do. Kids' lives are so highly regimented and controlled that imagination and creativity are not encouraged and there's no time for it. Kids also seem to be much more serious because they're very aware of what's happening in the wider world, whether they want to be or not.

There is a drive to achieve academically that is promoted everywhere in society: if you don't go to university/college, you won't get a job. Therefore, people start early trying to get good grades to get into higher education. So yes, in terms of book smarts, people today are way up there, but life skills are lacking, as is attention to detail. People do not pay attention to how they appear when speaking or writing and think it doesn't matter. That is a shame because globalization is making it increasingly important to know how to communicate effectively. I have taught college students for a number of years, and I see that rote learning, book learning, it's there--but there is very little creativity or critical thinking. This is not the fault of the students--the education system they occupy previous to reaching me does not allow for free, creative or critical thought. All the access people have to art and literature and any other type of knowledge desired can do nothing to help those who have never been taught to think for themselves.

Answer 3

I graduated high school the same year as you, but I disagree that people in general are smarter. You mention education; I assume that you went to college. If so, and if you now have a decent job thanks to your education, then you probably have just been associating with people who are more educated than average.

After I graduated college, I had a temporary job at a factory before my current job as a chemist. I helped out the engineers with special projects, but I went to training with the factory workers. One of our training exercises was to find the average, and min/max from a set of 8 measurements. Everyone else in the training thought at first that 10.6 was smaller than 10.51, because they didn't realize that 10.6 is the same as 10.60.

I don't think those people were not smart. I think they were not well educated in math. I had taken a year of college level calculus and 4 years of science classes with some math in them, before taking this job. These people may not have taken any math since algebra in high school, 10 or more years prior. On the other hand, at my current job as a chemist, I would be shocked if a new hire did not know what a mean or standard deviation are, because we are all supposed to have science degrees.

So, I think people are just as uneducated as they were 6 years ago. Just watch "Super Size Me" when Morgan Spurlock asks people on the street if they know what a calorie is.

Answer 4

The way people talk is changing. That's obvious based on the internet and cell phones. But, I do believe people are getting smarter. Granted, in older times, like the 17th and 18th century, children were going to college anywhere from 12 to 16. Children are learning their math, science, history, and english at a much faster rate. Some have had plans of completely eliminating the last two years of high school, because they have been deemed unnecessary. In my opinion though, I believe the students need that time to grow up more.

Answer 5

No. I think the gap in education has become worse. I think there is a small percentage of people that are getting smarter (like you for instance). However, I think many of us are falling behind and it's getting worse. You have to look at the number of people in this country that can't even put a decent sentence together or who don't know where Nebraska is (let alone any foreign country). People don't know anything about history, politics, geography and the list goes on and on.

Look at the number of people in the country that equate patriotism with support for war. How many people in this country think that because you are against a particular war then it means you don't appreciate the military. It's insane logic. People think if you value our country, then you have to support the president no matter what kind of insane land grab he is trying to pull.

Answer 6

At times I feel that we are at somewhat advanced levels than the past. For instance, law is probably well rounded and technology puts all of our products at a higher advantage. TVs are clearer to watch, cars start without keys, we can watch TV on our phones. There are software programs that can make our jobs a lot easier.

On the other hand, people use less of their intuition. They are likely to make more mistakes because they are easily distracted by various factors. People don't seem to use good judgment, which can put themselves in danger or others. A lot of times people just seem to lose focus with what is important.

Answer 7

No

Who are the normal people?

If the normal people are those in college with you then maybe you are just surrounding yourself with smarter people. If you're not in college, yet again maybe you are surrounding yourself with smarter people.

In the mean time do you consider it smart to call people "retarded" on a public forum?

Any answer is also relative to an individuals intelligence.

Answer 8

Of course!

The reason why we are getting smarter is quite simple. Are we smarter than our ancient relatives?
Yes! Why? Because we now have the knowledge from our ancient relatives and have combined it with our own. Civilizations get smarter day by day for the simple fact that what we learn today is combined with what we have learned throughout human history!

Answer 9

No. As for yahoo answers, you are getting responses from different sorts of people; from the very smart down to the very retarded; from babies to grandpas; from male to females; from the healthy to the very ill...and smarter in what sense...education ? socializing ? earning more money ?

Answer 10

Wow, this is new! It's usually people complaining about us getting dumber and how unintelligent we are. Never had someone ask if we were getting smarter! Asking questions is, although, how learning works. Good job!